Sensex, Nifty struggle amid global weakness; IT, auto stocks bear the brunt of tariff heat

Analysts at ICICI Securities suggested that any pullback should be seen as a buying opportunity

Indian benchmark indices remained in the red during the afternoon session on March 28, weighed down by lackluster global cues and investor caution amid tariff-related uncertainty in the US. The auto and IT sectors, both under pressure from tariff concerns, led the market decline.

Around noon, the Sensex had slipped 65 points (0.08 percent) to 77,541, while the Nifty was down 10 points (0.04 percent) at 23,581. Despite the weakness in headline indices, market breadth remained positive, with 2,032 stocks advancing, 1,303 declining, and 125 remaining unchanged.

Meanwhile, broader market indices outperformed, as the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 each gained 0.5 percent in intra-day trade.

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Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, stated that Nifty staying above 23,400 and Sensex above 77,100 would support a bullish structure.

"On the upside, 23,750–23,800 for Nifty and 78,000–78,200 for Sensex will act as key resistance levels. However, a break below 23,400 or 77,100 could shift sentiment to bearish," he added.

Analysts at ICICI Securities suggested that any pullback should be seen as a buying opportunity, as volatility is likely to persist due to the upcoming earnings season and potential tariff policy clarity from Trump.

"Given historical trends, we believe the index is nearing a mature consolidation phase with limited downside, setting the stage for the next leg of the uptrend," they noted.

Among individual stocks, the latest entrants to the Nifty 50—Zomato and Jio Financial Services—traded higher on their debut day in the benchmark index. Their inclusion is expected to drive passive inflows of $602 million and $308 million, respectively, according to Nuvama Institutional Equities.

Additionally, shares of ONGC and BPCL surged up to 4 percent following reports that Saudi Aramco is in discussions to invest in Indian refineries. Sources told Reuters on March 27 that the oil giant is exploring investments in two upcoming refinery projects in India, aiming to secure a long-term market for its crude in one of the world's fastest-growing economies.